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Where was Killing Eve filmed?
Killing Eve burst onto our screens in 2018, enthralling viewers all over the world with its depiction of the twisted cat-and-mouse game between brilliant, dedicated investigator Eve Polastri and Villanelle, the charismatic assassin she’s determined to catch. Based on Luke Jenning’s Villanelle novels, the first season of this female-driven, BBC adaptation was written by *Fleabag *creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge.
Villanelle’s global career and Russian roots make filming Killing Eve a truly international endeavour. The first three seasons – a fourth and final one is planned – used a wide variety of locations in the UK, Spain, France, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands and Romania.
Read on to discover a few of the key places in Killing Eve’s glamorous and blood-soaked setting.
This classic bar in the Tuscan hill town of Colle di Val d’Elsa, just north of Siena, represents a Viennese café in the opening scene of season one of* Killing Eve*. In the colonnade of the town’s main square, Caffè Garibaldi is a beloved haunt of generations of Tuscans, who flock here for coffee, pastries and a spot of people-watching.
One of Oxford’s oldest and wealthiest colleges is the site of some prime drama in season two when Villanelle sets her sights on wrecking Eve’s marriage to her husband Niko. Magdalen College’s lush greenery and fifteenth-century architecture provide a beautiful backdrop to the villainous intrigue.
The unique beauty of the old Hornsey Town Hall in London’s Crouch End adds a touch of believably Soviet glamour to season two of Killing Eve. The famous modernist building doubles for the Hotel Atlasov in Moscow when Eve’s hunt for Villanelle takes her to Russia. Hornsey Town Hall is a popular filming location. You might recognise its distinctive interior from Bohemian Rhapsody,* The Crown*, *Whitechapel *or The Hour.
Romania is a popular* Killing Eve* filming location, but one standout scene is the tense finale of season one. The confrontation between Eve, Villanelle and Villanelle’s handler Konstantin takes place in the columned and frescoed interior of the Athenaeum concert hall in the Romanian capital, Bucharest, a gem of nineteenth-century neoclassical architecture.
Nerve-wracking season finales are Killing Eve’s speciality. The dramatic, life-or-death ending of season two takes place in the unearthly ruins of the emperor Hadrian’s villa at Tivoli, near Rome. This grand villa, the emperor’s country retreat, was endowed with pools and baths, temples, elaborate gardens and grottoes, libraries and more. Now a World Heritage Site, the villa is one of Italy’s most popular archaeological attractions.
One of season one’s most shocking twists, the murder of a beloved character by Villanelle, supposedly takes place in a nightclub in Berlin. It was actually filmed at Fabric, the legendary nightclub opposite Smithfield Market in London’s trendy Farringdon area.
Eve’s easygoing and peaceful husband Niko Polastri loves to play – and teach – bridge at a club frequented by the Polish community in London. His scenes with his card-playing buddies were filmed at the Mildmay Club, a Victorian working men’s club in Stoke Newington, northeast London.